Friday, January 30, 2009

The Next Chapter...

In all candor - I probably should not be up to my sarcastic antics during this time of lay-offs and economic recessions - we all should be happy we even have jobs - whether we like them or not, right?!

As I personally witness massive reorganizations and job-restructuring as those viewing from the top like to call it - my feelings are bittersweet. From those who can finally leave their unfulfilling jobs with severance packages and buy-outs allowing them to reconnect with their childhood dreams and goals of opening up that bakery or custom auto shop or finally being able to release all that pent up literary frustration and becoming that romance novelist that you've always wanted to do, or simply just traveling the world or spending time with the grand kids - I cheer them on with excitement eagerly awaiting the roll out of their life's ACT 2 or even 3 or 4 - who knows.


Then there are those who lived to work, giving numerous years or maybe numerous months or hours, manual or mental labor, ideas and loyalty to a company all to find themselves without warning being asked to leave, with only a couple minutes to pack up their belongings and no time to inquire about COBRA benefits or unemployment.

I can remember being laid off from my first job out of graduate school - I was a victim of last one in - first one out. I was disappointed and caught off guard, but I can remember my mother telling me, as I was then a very green workforce novice, "this is what happens in the real world. You are experiencing this sooner than most in their working careers, you'll be fine." Fine - I thought, I just graduated grad school, I didn't defer my student loans, I don't have any income - Hel-lo!! I'm broke!

Just like a book is filled with many chapters - so are our experiences. So although hard to hear, embrace and try turning the page to the next chapter with optimism that these next pages will hold even bigger and brighter contents than the chapters before.

1 comment:

Gossiper said...

I really enjoyed this article!!! I am a greenie to the workforce AND after a year at my last company, I was LAID OFF!!! Now, I'm just trying to pick up the pieces and get my career together... Eeek! LOL... But I now know there's more to come for me

:-)